


A whole new face

by hagstrom



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, POV Natasha Romanov, Retrospective, So this happens in Civil War, Sokovia Accords, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, Well hurt Tony but only in passing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 13:18:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17808686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hagstrom/pseuds/hagstrom
Summary: It should not have taken her so long to realize that this time it was different.This time it was serious.





	A whole new face

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea that came out of nowhere while I was doing boring everyday stuff -cleaning coffee grounds that my irresponsible roommate thinks its cute to sprinkle all over the kitchen counter - but it got stuck in my head and I think that every writing idea that gets stuck long enough and survives, deserves to be written. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!

As she entered the main living room where the rest of the team was summoned by Tony Stark, her attention was inmediately focused on the enginneer.

The unwellness was something expected, however the unguarded expression of pain was not. That should have told her more, but it had been a while since she had seen Tony routinely and she knew things had been rather difficult of late.

Tony turn to her and away from the Starktablet he was working on. Natasha was willing to bet it was the next model, scheduled to hit the shelves in about a year. Ah, Tony! always mindful not to be left out of the competition.

 

 _-Hey Nat, good to see you! Well, you're early so grab a seat, the others should not be far behind_ \- the engineer greeted her, closing off any expression aside some false nonchanlance as fast as he would close the faceplate on his helmet at any battlefield.

 

- _You're early too. Coffee?_ \- she asked, going straight to the kitchen. Being nice was easy and even though she knew it'd get her nowhere with Tony, it made her approachable for the rest, a nice tactic that never was to be taken for granted.

 

- _Thanks, but I think I already hit my expresso limit_ \- Tony answered, attention back to the screen. Nat seized the opportunity and turned to look at Tony again, who had half stretched over the sofa, like a lazy cat. However, he looked haggard and she was pretty sure that the pain on what appear to be Tony's left shoulder was not her imagination as was his somewhat lukewarm attitude. Perhaps he was still facing last winter's consequences; the Ultron fiasco had taken everyone by surprise and most of the team seemed to have put some distance from the genius, still annoyed with him for talking about this A.I. idea only to Bruce.

His break up with Pepper Potts was unfortunately made _really_ public, thanks to trashy magazines and horrible tv shows. Pepper didn't quit being CEO and that, combined with the multiple updates for most of the public products that SI owned, kept it's stocks solid as a rock. Even the image of the newly bachelor playboy-genius was working in his favour; out on the romantic market again, and concentrated on his work, throwing updates and inventions whenever he wanted and kickstarting the September Inaugural Foundation.

Considered from afar, Tony Stark could not be better.

The team started to trickle in and after their introduction and quick talk to General Ross, things went as well as it was expected; everyone started taking sides and to absolutely no ones surprise, Vision was the reasonable voice on the whole lot. Almost everyone gathered spoke their mind and it wasn't long before sides were formed.

Steve preferred to leave the discussion to others for the time being and just read to document further before making a comment but Natasha knew Steve. He'd never agree on something that could marginally restrict someone on their freedom. She was sure he was just searching for the a hideous paragraph in the text to turn it down.

Again withdrawing to herself to evaluate and decide what was the best course of action she noticed a decided silence from the most vocal member of the team.

Tony's.

The man looked unwell but with a strange look on his face.

Nonetheless, what really drew Widow's attention was that Tony was discreetly watching Steve while he read the document. The russian knew that Stark was aware of Steve's influence on the rest of the team. To lose Steve to the other side would be a hard blow to face.

Who knew that Tony had picked up some people's skills from rich politicians?

 

 

However, when she drew attention to Stark's uncharacteristic silence and was inmediately backed up by Steve, she could not have, in a million years, predicted what Tony would say then.

 

_-Oh, that's Charles Spencer by the way. He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree. 3.6 GPA. Had a floor level gig. An Intel plan for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul. Before he park it behind then desk. See the world, maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam. Sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer, building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where, Sokovia. -at this point no one could look at him in the eye.-He want to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass._

Oh god. It shouldn't have taken her so long to realize that this time? This time Tony was seething. She had never seen him like that, not even when Fury told him she was a spy.

_-There's no decision making process here. We need to be put in check. Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, we're boundless, we're no better than the bad guys._

Steve inmediately discussed his logic and quickly moved away from Charles Spencer's topic. 

 

However this time, there was no warmth on his face when he looked at Steve. There was no patience displayed for the rest of the team. He was just tolerating them right now.

She was so wrong. He had learned from his politician friends, but it was not diplomacy he was displaying here. It was tactics.

He was so convinced they had this coming whether they wanted it or not, that he wasn't really relying on Steve's or on anyone's support. Having them on his side was just a plus, but he knew this was inevitable so he was willing to sacrifice some things in exchange for control 

 

This was a dangerous Stark.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been meaning to write something for this fandom because thanks to this movies, my most nerdy side has emerged with a new vigour. I'm really close to start buying comics AGAIN.
> 
> This was really brief but it's my way to say thanks to this universe and this fandom.


End file.
